Literature & Meaning w/ Liza Libes

Literature & Meaning w/ Liza Libes

From Discourse Lab by Clayton Smith and Anthony Rispo

May 5, 2026 · 1h 46m · Episode 38

About this episode

In this episode, Liza Libes discusses her background, the importance of classic literature, and shares her insights on various authors and works.

In this episode Clay is joined by Liza Libes . Liza is an author, content creator, and voracious reader of classic fiction. She is also the owner and operator of Invictus Prep , a college consulting company that helps applicants leverage the power of narrative to get into their dream school. This is an episode that can be divided into two main parts. The first part consists of Liza’s unique and fascinating origin story as the daughter of Soviet immigrants, as well as her and experience with woke, professors, TAs, and students at Columbia University. Starting at 04:02 In the second part, Liza brings her considerable literary knowledge to bear on questions like “Why is it important to read classic fiction?”, “Is modern literature any good?”, and “Why are Russian novelists particularly talented?”. She also shares her takes on Sally Rooney, Ernest Hemingway, the new Harry Potter HBO show, and much more. Starting at 54:35 You can follow Liza on Instagram , X , and YouTube . And of course, please get yourself a copy of one of Liza’s fantastic collections of poetry . Books mentioned in this episode Harry Potter — J. K. Rowling Vanity Fair — William Makepeace Thackeray The Master and…

People in this episode

Hosts: Clayton Smith, Anthony Rispo

Guest: Liza Libes

Topics covered

  • literature
  • classic fiction
  • narrative
  • college consulting
  • Russian novelists
  • modern literature

Keywords

  • Liza Libes
  • classic fiction
  • narrative
  • literary knowledge
  • Russian novelists
  • Sally Rooney
  • Ernest Hemingway
  • Harry Potter

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Invictus Prep

Books & works: Harry Potter, Vanity Fair, The Master and Margarita, Anna Karenina, The Brothers Karamazov, The Iliad, Mansfield Park, Metamorphoses, Wuthering Heights, Animal Farm

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